Quite suddenly I realized that just having life goals and big goals is not enough. It is our near and far goals, our short term and long term goals that actually do a lot of the work. Whenever I have been stuck at a point in my career, my short term goals have actually saved the day. They have given me a direction and replaced what could have been anxiety and stress in my life with a larger role and purpose.

The combination of both the short term and long term goals have also the power to redirect our lives or to re-rail our life at a time of de-railing.

Why do we need Short Term Goals

When the going is rough, it’s better to not focus on the immediate. The immediate is best taken care of by our daily actions and automated process handling. This is the time to relook all career goals. The serious ones and the not so serious ones.

A few years back, I had come to a cross road in my career where I felt that a new direction was required. I was considering a change in jobs but was not too happy with the job offers coming my way. During this wait, I was also experiencing a sense of repetition leading to boredom in my current profile. Focusing on finding a new job felt tedious and frustration levels were beginning to rise.

A Eureka Moment

During this time of self-analysis and waiting, quite suddenly I might add, I realized something that I call the Power of Five. What might this be? I believe its best described as a five step approach. Each of us are always five steps away from our goal. We need to always have the next five steps mapped out on where we need to reach. I’ve often heard questions asked during interviews “Where do you see yourself in the next five years?” Even most companies would have a defined five year plan or vision and mission.

My realization of the Power of Five is that this is not and never is a five year plan. It’s a five step plan. Each of us can define these five steps in our own unique way and work towards our success point. This Power of Five can only be defined by numbers and definite quantifiable items. Imagine we are always five steps away from achieving our monetary or success goals. These steps can be in terms of income generated, targets achieved, revenue generated by businesses or similar.

My first experiment with this thought was on myself. I had reworked my resume and uploaded it onto the job search portals. Spoken across my network of people but was still awaiting something that would excite me. I realized then that I was only focusing on the now. On my job search and the fact that I was not happy in my current role. By focusing on just the present I felt I was not making it happen and the current situation was stretching longer than it actually was required to. Instead I needed to figure out my five step goals, near and far, my first and last step.

Defining my Short Term & Long Term Goals

I remember thinking out my goals. My first step or near goal would be buying a car for my personal use. After much deliberation I decided on a date 10 months from the current by when I should have purchased my car. This was a quantifiable and date bound goal. My long term goal I defined as five times the amount of my desired income. I felt that making a certain salary as goal would ensure I got a good profile that would enable me to command a higher salary in the future. At that point of time there were also some investments made by me which were not working. My 10 months’ time frame I felt would cover those.

I focused on my near goal and discussed at home which car we should purchase. My son got super excited and we would review the attributes of different cars at home on a daily basis. Instead of focusing on the current, I was now focusing on the near goal. I knew in my heart I didn’t have the funds to purchase the car and also that even after starting a new job, I would need to save my salary for a few months before I could achieve this. Hence the 10 month road map.

Interestingly, the month after defining my near and far goal, I received an interview call which translated into a job change with an exciting profile. However I could not realize the car purchase within the 10 month time target. The investments mentioned above took some time getting themselves sorted out. However circumstances now took a further interesting turn. I did purchase a new car just a few months later than the targeted date. The dealer offered me a new car at a discounted rate as another deal had got cancelled. This car had all the attributes that I had wanted, surprisingly even the colour. The only issue was the manufacturing date was from 3 months prior to the current date. I realized then that the manufacturing date was actually the same as the one targeted by me more than a year earlier. It certainly appeared as if this car was being kept in reserve only for me. I still have this car and am very happy with my purchase. I cannot call this a coincidence, instead a positive verification of setting up the near goal.

My Power of Five worked out for me. I achieved my job change with a minimum amount of stress. This happened so smoothly just by focusing on the next step. The new profile was exciting and has made me more ready for handling more responsibility.

The Power of Five has been offered by me to many people around me and has seen positive results. It’s dynamic and needs to be worked on and updated regularly once we achieve the near goals. I’ve observed its power in the growth and success of people and businesses around me. It also helps keep up the enthusiasm and enables focusing forward and onward. Even today when faced with trying times, I find focusing on my near and far goals helps me to still my mind. To focus on learning from situations instead of getting mired down in dismay. This helps me to maintain my calm and serenity.

Power of Five to all of you.

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